From Anime to Live Action

There is a growing trend of popular anime becoming live action features. Larry and Andy Wachowski have announced the casting of Emile Hirsch (from Lords Of Dogtown) as the lead in Speed Racer.

Presently filming in Shanghai and Taiwan is the live action version of Inoue Takehiko's smash manga/anime Slam Dunk. With a production budget of USD 10 million, the film stars Jay Chou, Charlene Choi and Chen Bo-lin.

Also in the works is the live action version of Blood: The Last Vampire starring pretty Korean actress Jeon Ji-hyun (of My Sassy Girl) in the lead role of Saya.

One particular film project that is strangely silent these days is the live action version of the hit suspense manga by Naoki Urasawa, Monster. Optioned by New Line Cinema, my source informed me that the studio is having difficulty casting the lead role of Dr. Tenma, and are even considering changing the character from a Japanese doctor to a Caucasian, a move that is likely to cause an uproar among fans (yours truly among them).

Major Anime Studios Announce Big Projects!

Three top anime studios in Japan recently announced big projects that they have planned for release this year.

Production I.G., which is celebrating its 20^th Anniversary this year, will be premiering its latest 26-episode anime series Seirei No Moribito ("Guardian of the Sacred Spirit") on April 7. Based on the original novel by Nahoko Umehashi, the anime will be helmed by Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex director Kenji Kamiyama. The anime already has its own website, which you can check out at http://www.moribito.com In line with the studio's 20^th Anniversary, they will be premiering the anime Ghost Hound, which is written by the creator of Ghost In The Shell himself Shirow Masamune.

Studio Ghibli's big announcement is that they will be co-producing (with Toho) Hayao Miyazaki's next full-length animation feature Gake No Ueno Ponyo ("Ponyo On A Cliff"), which is slated for release in July, 2008. This tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a 5-year old boy and a mermaid. The film is probably the most personal that Miyazaki will direct because the story draws upon his experiences with his eldest son Goro Miyazaki (who is himself an anime director) when he was five years old.

Following the huge success of Death Note, Madhouse has several big projects lined up. One major project is the anime version of the ultra-violent samurai manga Shigurui. They have also confirmed that there will be a sequel to the popular Cannes Festival nominated film, Nasu: Summer In Andalusia, with Studio Ghibli's Yoshida Kenichi serving as animation director. This time, the sequel will find champion biker Pepe Benengeli competing in the prestigious Utsunomiya Japan Cup. One Madhouse production that anime fans are looking forward to is the anime version of the hit PS2 game Devil May Cry. Seiyuu fans are especially anticipating the June 14 premiere of the anime because it boasts the voice talents of Morikawa Toshiyuki (Conrad Weller of Kyou Kara Maou) as Dante and Akio Ohtsuka (the award-winning seiyuu of Black Jack) as Morrison. Morimori-san (as Morikawa is lovingly called by his fans) is no stranger to game dubbing. He is credited as the voice actor for popular Final Fantasy VII villain, Sephiroth.

Black Jack Trivia

Are you a huge fan of Black Jack like I am? You're probably not aware of this but the Black Jack series that Animax is presently airing features cameo appearances of creator Osamu Tezuka's most popular characters. In Karte 20 "Tetsu of the Yamanote Line", AstroBoy and Inspector Tawashi make a brief "walk through" appearance in the scene where Tetsu (who is more popularly known as Daddy Walrus on AstroBoy) is running down the stairs of the train station as he tries to escape from a couple of angry pickpockets. Princess Sapphire is one of supercomputer U-18's patients in Black Jack: 4 Miracles of Life. One particularly memorable episode is Karte 23: "Love in the Pouring Rain", which was aired last week. Dr. Kiyomi Shimizu's brother Okuro is actually Hyakkimaru from Tezuka's popular samurai manga, Dororo. The design of Hyakkimaru served as the basis for the creation of Dr. Black Jack. Even the blanket that Black Jack used in that same episode had the "same anchors on violet background" design that Tezuka originally used for Hyakkimaru's kimono. Needless to say, Black Jack fans have remarked that seeing Hyakkimaru and Black Jack together in one anime episode is like seeing twins.

Kyou Kara Maou!/God(?) Save Our King!

If you're one of those fans who are hankering for more Kyou Kara Maou!/God(?) Save Our King!, you'll be delighted to know that a 5-episode OAV is currently in production in Japan.

Although very little is known about these OAVs, I've heard from a reliable source that joining Shibuya Yuuri, Wolfram von Bielefelt, Conrad Weller and co. in this limited series is King Saralegui of Small Shimaron, who was first introduced in the very popular KKM Playstation 2 Game and who has acquired quite a number of loyal female fans. Not surprising, since he is quite a cute bespectacled young blond who could give Wolfram a run for his money. If you want to see how he looks like, I highly recommend you proceed to Portrait of A Demon King at

http://pdk.broken-sunshine.net/index.php

Check out the link labeled "PS 2 Game Images". He's the long-haired blond guy wearing lavender shades. I must admit that what has made me curious is how Saralegui became quite a hunk from the old fart that he was in the series. Just check out the re-air of the episode where Yuuri was able to get the first Forbidden Box. Saralegui was the old guy being shown around by "Cropped Pony" Bad Guy Maxine.

ANIMAGE'S TOP ANIME CHARACTERS IN JAPAN

Last February, Animage, one of the leading anime publications in Japan, conducted a poll among their readers to determine who are the 100 Most Popular Anime Characters in Japan today. Here are the Top 20 Most Popular Anime Characters…

1. Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass)

2. Kira Yamato (Gundam Seed)

3. Arthrun Zala (Gundam Seed)

4. Haruhi Suzumiya (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

5. Allen Walker (D. Gray-man)

6. Suou Tamaki (Ouran High School Host Club)

7. Hitsugaya Toushirou (Bleach)

8. Lacus Clyne (Gundam Seed)

9. Edward Elric (Full Metal Alchemist)

10. Kallen Stadtfeld (Code Geass)

11. Cagalli Yula Athha (Gundam Seed)

12. Kinomoto Sakura (Card Captor Sakura)

13. Sakura (Tsubasa Chronicles/Chronicles of the Wings)

14. Kanda Yu (D. Gray-man)

15. Fujioka Haruhi (Ouran High School Host Club)

16. C.C. (Code Geass)

17. Miyazaki Nodoka (Mahou Sensei Negima!)

18. Abe No Yasuaki (Harukanaru Toki No Naka De)

19. Okita Sougou (Gintama)

20. L (Death Note) Tied w/ Kotarou Katsura (Gintama)

If you want to know how your other favorite anime characters fared, here are the rankings of the more popular ones….

25. Bell Dandy (Oh My Goddess!)

27. Edogawa Conan (Detective Conan) Tied W/ Hagi (Blood+)

34. Sakata Gintoki (Gintama)

36. Shibuya Yuuri (Kyou Kara Maou)

39. Enma Ai (Jigoku Shoujo)

40. Solomon Goldsmith (Blood+)

41. Saya (Blood+)

43. Kuchiki Byakuya (Bleach)

46. Ootori Kyouya (Ouran High School Host Club)

47. Kaoru Futachiin (Ouran High School Host Club)

50. Li Shaoran (Tsubasa Chronicles) Tied w/ Hijikata Toushiro (Gintama)

54. Ichimaru Gin (Bleach)

64. Gunter von Christ/Wolfram von Bielefelt (Kyou Kara Maou)

70. Kurosaki Ichigo (Bleach) Tied w/ Futachiin Hikaru (Ouran High School Host Club)

77. Keroro (Keroro Gunso) Tied w/ Fye Flowright (Tsubasa Chronicles)

84. Kurogane (Tsubasa Chronicles) Tied W/ Black Jack (Black Jack)

90. Uzumaki Naruto (Naruto)

TechnoMax "Design A Game Console" Contest

If you haven't submitted your entry yet to the "Design A Game Console" contest over in Oli Pettigrew's turf TechnoMax, I suggest you do so now.

Tomy Corporation and D3Publisher of America have confirmed the upcoming release of Naruto: Clash of Ninja (Tentative title) for the Nintendo Wii system this Fall 2007.

If you're a frustrated a ninja, the game will give you the opportunity to step into Naruto and co.'s shoes and duke it out with evil assassins and warlords. This is the perfect chance for you to practice that Kagebunshin technique and go forth and multiply like tiny blond haired, orange clad gremlins.

Of course, you can't play the game without a Nintendo Wii. So JOIN THE TECHNOMAX CONTEST NOW!!!

More details @ www.animax-asia.com/technomax

First American Anime Awards, New York

Hello, hello! Welcome to the maiden edition of Animax's very own blog, the only place where you can get the latest and hottest anime news on the planet!! I won't keep you waiting any more, so…LET'S GET ON WITH THE NEWS!!!

The months of February and March were chock full of awards, as the U.S. and Japan FINALLY gave recognition to the much criticized and under appreciated talents of the seiyuu or voice actor. Last February 24, the First American Anime Awards were held in the New Yorker Hotel in New York City. As expected, Full Metal Alchemist garnered most of the awards, including Best Long Anime Series, Best Cast, Best Actor (Vic Mignogna who voiced Edward Elric), Best Package Design, and Best Theme Song (the hard rockin' Rewrite by Asian Kung Fu Generation). Best Anime Comedy and Best Anime Short Series went to FLCL (or Fooly Cooly). However, winning Best Actor and Actress in a Comedy are Dave Wittenberg and Debi Derryberry for Zatch Bell. The Best Actress plum went to Mary Elizabeth for her role of Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig. It certainly came as no surprise that Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children won Best Anime Feature. Fruits Basket won Best Manga. Finally, Peter Fernandez was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for his numerous contributions as a voice director and writer for several foreign language films.

Good For A Chuckle

Good for a chuckle… Speaking of games, if you're a Samurai 7 fan, you probably know that there is a PlayStation 2 game, which has Shimada Kanbei and co. battling the evil Nobuseri in another village, with the help of a handsome young farmer who is poor Katsushiro's rival for Kirara's affections.

If you recall, one episode in the anime had Gorobei, Heihachi and Rikichi dressing in drag in order to escape detection by the Nobuseri as they were heading to Kanna Village. In the video game, Gorobei imagined what it would be like if his other comrades wore dresses. Believe me! It's not a pretty sight!! But if you're in need of a good laugh, you can check it out at my Photobucket site at:

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s12/saiyukihana/S7Game.jpg

Are You a Fan of Highlander?

Are you a fan of the Highlander movies and series? Don't look now but those sword-wielding, head-slashing Immortals will be coming to your TV screens in ANIME format this June.

Entitled Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, the anime is directed by noted Japanese director, Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust), based on a story by Highlander series writer David Abramowitz. The animation is by award-winning studio, Madhouse.

The anime is set in the futuristic underwater city of New York. Young Immortal Colin MacLeod is in search of Marcus Octavius, an evil man who killed his lover centuries back and now rules over New York City. Joining him in his quest for vengeance is the ghost of another Immortal, Amergan.

Colin MacLeod is going to be voiced by newcomer Alistair Abell. The Ghost Amergan is played by actor Peter Wingfield, whom Highlander fans would fondly remember from the series as the world's oldest Immortal, Methos.

Gonzo Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary

Leading anime studio Gonzo is celebrating its 15th Anniversary this year. This momentous occasion will be marked by the premiere of two cutting edge anime, one of which was previously aired on African-American channel Spike TV in the U.S., and never on Japanese TV.

The first anime is Afro Samurai, which tells the story of a Black samurai who embarks on a journey to find the man who murdered his father. Based on the manga by Takashi Okazaki, Afro Samurai was originally aired on Spike TV and it featured the voices of Samuel L. Jackson (who also served as co-producer) as Afro, Ron Perlman (of Hellboy fame) as Justice, and X-Men 2 star Kelly Hu. For its Japanese airing, this five-episode anime will be shown in English with Japanese subtitles. For more information, you can go over to http://www.afrosamurai.com

The second anime is Romeo x Juliet, and it is already being touted as the next Count of Monte Cristo. It is a futuristic retelling of William Shakespeare's classic play. The setting is Neo Verona, an aerial city that is being held under the tyrannical rule of the Montague family. The Montagues are the bitter enemies of another ruling family, the Capulets. Romeo is the son of the present despot while Juliet is the last descendant of the Capulets, who disguises herself as a man named Odin to get revenge upon the Montagues.

Romeo is going to be voiced by Takahiro Mizushima, who is noted for his role of Wataru Ozawa from the popular anime Gakuen Heaven. Fumie Mizusawa, known for her role of Minamoto Hikaru from Otogi Zoshi, plays Juliet. Also, in the cast is Okiayu Ryoutarou, more popularly known as Kuchiki Byakuya in Bleach (and who was himself nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the Seiyuu Awards for the said role), who will be playing the villain Tybalt.

The official Romeo x Juliet site at http://www.romejuli.jp/ has exclusive trailers, which you might want to check out.

Seiyuu Awards

Although Seiyuu have a huge loyal fan base in Japan, it is only this year that their talents have been recognized by an official awards-giving body. The First Seiyuu Awards were given out last March 3 at the 3D Theater of Akihabara's Tokyo Anime Center.

Winning for Best Male Seiyuu in a Lead Role is Fukuyama Jun for his role of Lelouch in Code Geass. Fans would remember Fukuyama for his role of Albert in Gankutsuou/The Count of Monte Cristo. Romi Paku won Best Female Seiyuu in a Lead Role for her role of Nana Osaki in the anime, Nana. Romi is particularly known for voicing boy characters, with notable roles including Edward Elric in the original Japanese version of Full Metal Alchemist and Okamoto Katsushiro in Samurai 7.

Best Male Seiyuu in a Supporting Role went to two actors – Ishida Akira (Arthrun in Gundam Seed Destiny) and Kouki Miyata (Kazumi Yoshinaga in Yoshinaga-san'chi no Gargoyle). Fans would know these two seiyuu from their previous roles of Cho Hakkai from the Saiyuki series and Murata Ken from Kyou Kara Maou!/God(?) Save Our King, respectively.

Best Female Seiyuu in a Supporting Role went to Koshimizu Ami (Kallen Stadtfeld from Code Geass) and Gotou Yuuko (Mikuru Asahina from The Melacholy of Haruhi Suzumiya).

Named Best Rookie Actors are Tetsuya Kakihara (Yutaka Mikoto from Princess Princess) and Masakazu Morita (Kurosaki Ichigo in Bleach). The winners for Best Rookie Actresses are Yui Kano as Momoko Kuzuryu from Sumomomo Momomo and Aya Hirano as Haruhi Suzumiya from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Hirano is presently garnering rave reviews for her role of Misa Amane in Death Note.

Best Musical Performance went to Nana Mizuki for Justice To Believe. Finally, the Pokemon Cast won the Synergy Award.